The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 437 Hidden dangers erupt, Murong family is surrounded by enemies

Orders were issued one after another in Chanhe Villa, and Murong Fu kept calculating the time of many events in the original work. Wang Yuyan and Azhu accompanied him, specifying various plans and perfecting the details.

The thirty-six island lords sneaked into the Liao Kingdom and cooperated with Murong Trading Company to complete the infiltration and lurking work.

The seventy-two island owners infested the East China Sea and the South China Sea. They selected half of them to form a semi-public alliance, built ports and docks, and charged high tolls to passing merchant ships. If anyone offended them, they would collectively boycott. The other island owners formed a pirate fleet as a secret force.

This sudden move hit the Jiangnan gentry at their weakest point, throwing the entire East China Sea and South China Sea into chaos. It even affected the entire imperial court, mobilizing the imperial navy. As a result of the conflict between the two tigers, other smaller players suffered, including Japanese pirates, small-scale pirate gangs, and the private marauding ships of wealthy Jiangnan merchants, all becoming cannon fodder.

The court's attention shifted to the sea. Murong Fu's influence in Sichuan and Shu, despite his own deliberate weakening, was also under attack. Cao Yi was transferred back to Kyoto. Although he was promoted three ranks, he lost his command of the army. He took a three-year leave of absence under the pretext of recuperation and accompanied Zhuge Yi and Zhuge Xiu to the Chanhe Villa. Other close associates stationed in Yazhou Prefecture were either demoted or transferred, and various industries were subjected to severe suppression and hostile takeovers.

For a time, the entire Yazhou Prefecture was in chaos, with false and unjust cases occurring one after another. The power of the Murong family in Sichuan and Shu was gradually compressed, resulting in a significant reduction in taxation.

However, they were unaware that these businesses, previously monopolized by the Murong Trading Company, had been jointly operated with local wealthy families. Furthermore, Murong family personnel had evacuated with a large amount of supplies before the incident, vanishing without a trace. They were targeting the wealthy local families who were using the Murong Trading Company's name and channels to conduct business.

While Murong Fu wasn't exactly incorruptible during his time, he was certainly open-minded and fair, providing various supplies to the border fortresses. At crucial moments, Murong Fu personally fought against the Tubo to ensure regional security. After Murong Fu's departure, the now-mature Cao Yi took charge of the frontier fortress. As Murong Fu's brother-in-law, he was also able to mobilize supplies from the Murong Trading Company to ensure the border troops' supplies.

Similarly, Cao Yi returned the favor by protecting Murong Merchants and even providing many conveniences. It was not without reason that more than 80% of the trade with Tubo was controlled by Murong Merchants. Others only saw Murong Merchants eating meat, but did not see Murong Merchants bleeding and cutting meat.

Cao Yi and a group of people from the Murong family were transferred away, and the surrounding jackals, tigers and leopards immediately swarmed over. With the help of various means, and with the support of the new garrison commander, they quickly seized and divided up the trade share that originally belonged to Murong Trading Company, and at the same time cut off the supply of the border troops.

In just three months, the entire Yazhou Prefecture was in ruins, and the border fortresses also experienced huge fluctuations. At this time, the Murong family suddenly took action. In the court, more than ten civil officials from Gusu Academy, including Bao Budian, produced a lot of evidence and impeached more than a hundred people. They also issued a warning that the border fortresses had a large amount of supplies embezzled and their combat effectiveness had plummeted, which might attract a tentative attack from the Tubo army.

The data, characteristic of the Murong family's Gusu College, was itemized, detailing the amounts of corruption, the number of people involved, and the impact clearly. Many involved were stunned, silently cursing Murong Fu for his cunning and dishonest behavior. "You've already lost, why won't you admit it?" "You're not corrupt yourself, but you won't let us be corrupt either. When you were in office, we accepted it for the sake of our reputation and achievements. Now that you're gone, why are you still meddling?"

Not only was the corruption in the border fortress exposed, but all sorts of things involving the Murong Trading Company in Yazhou Prefecture were also brought up. The reason given was not the core interests of the merchants, but the impact of these vampires on people's livelihood.

Before Murong Fu's departure, Sichuan and Shu were plagued by rebellion. Under him, Rong Jing flourished, and later, Yazhou prospered, influencing the entire western region of Chengdu. After Murong Fu's departure, the Murong Trading Company had already spread throughout Sichuan and Shu, and his lingering influence deterred many from reckless behavior. However, his indulgence this time was like a river bursting its banks. The more severe the initial suppression, the more devastating the impact.

Bao Bu Tong directly compared the situation in Yazhou Prefecture before and after Murong Fu took office, and told them very confidently that life was not easy for the people. Not long after they had started to live a good life, they were forced back to their original state and their few rations were snatched away, which might trigger a riot.

This was not the intention of the mob, but they had to do so in order to survive. The officials forced the people to rebel, so the people had no choice but to rebel.

Once the people of Sichuan and Shu are in turmoil, Tubo, who covet the wealth of the Song Dynasty, may take advantage of the situation and invade. However, due to corruption, the border fortresses are short of equipment and the combat effectiveness is reduced, which will result in defeat!

If they were merely defeated but the fortresses were not lost, it would be fine. However, if the fortresses were truly captured due to insufficient equipment, the Tibetan army would be able to rush in, and the western part of Yazhou Prefecture would inevitably be engulfed in war and suffer heavy losses. If the weak Tibetans were more ambitious, they might even capture cities and territories and conquer Western Shu. Even if they simply looted and fled, they would still cause great losses to Sichuan and Shu, and even destroy the border fortresses, eliminating their future strategic advantages.

The literati ministers scoffed at Bao Bu Tong's words. The frontier fortresses and Yazhou Prefecture were in this state before Murong Furen was appointed. It didn't seem that the Tubo army could really break them. At most, the results were a little ugly, and this was exactly what the government and literati ministers wanted to see.

Spending as little money as possible, making the border troops suffer humiliating battles, and barely ensuring victory, would not only suppress the military's achievements and status, but also save military funds and facilitate corruption, which was in their best interest. Conversely, when Murong Fu was in office, there were frequent reports of victories, with repeated victories against Tubo and great gains. It looked good and sounded good, but not only was the cost enormous, but the constant rewards they had to pay were also a source of frustration for the steward.

What made the civil officials unhappy was that the military men not only had good military achievements and a good reputation, but they were also promoted to higher positions. How could they accept this?

You mean scholars going to lead the troops?

Haha, the head of Yazhou Prefecture is Murong Fu, and the general of the border fortress is Cao Yi. If you dare to take up an official position, they will treat you like an animal, throwing you directly into your post to face the Tibetan army. Are the deaths of civil officials in the border fortress really rare? As long as they are not afraid of you, and truly dare to use you and prevent you from messing around, the probability of a civil official's death is not small at all.

The reason is simple: incompetence and greed!

Which capable civil official would compete with those rough guys for a bite of food? Wouldn't that be a loss of face?

Bao Bu Tong scoffed at the scholars' questions and told them very clearly that before his young master took office, Yazhou Prefecture wasn't worth the Tubo army's mobilization. But now, Yazhou Prefecture was different. Even if an army of 300,000 or 500,000 were to plunder Yazhou Prefecture for half a year, it would still be a huge profit. The wealth of the place where his young master governed had increased ten or twenty times. Isn't that an exaggeration?

Although Bao Bu Tong was honest, he was a minority in the court. Even if he had evidence, what would it matter? At worst, he could just send someone else to search the area. Ultimately, the Murong family could not be allowed to retake the Yazhou Prefecture. This was what the government and the officials truly wanted.

Bao Bu Tong naturally disapproved of the outcome of the court struggle, so he launched into a furious outburst against the officials. While his own gratification was felt, the emperor was deeply embarrassed, so he found an excuse to give him a few months' rest. In a rage, Bao Bu Tong resigned from his position. Half of the officials in the court who had graduated from Gusu Academy resigned, and the rest were suppressed, with two even exiled to remote areas.

In this one battle, the Murong family suffered a crushing defeat, and almost all of the territory of Yazhou Prefecture fell. The forces in the court were also mostly wiped out, and the remaining ones were powerless to speak out. This made the officials of the aristocratic families overjoyed. It seemed that they saw the weakness of the Murong family, and they were all ready to take action against Murong Trading Company.

In the third month, Murong Trading Company was maliciously attacked at several points. Various incidents occurred one after another, including goods being seized, the person in charge being arrested, and the store being maliciously provoked. The government openly did not support them, making it difficult for them to move forward for a while.

Murong Fu was also a tough guy. He first ordered the local partners to come forward to resolve the issue and even sent a letter. If the partners and the government did not give him face, he would directly cancel the branch, cut off the trade routes, and even very sternly ordered other cooperating merchants not to move in, otherwise they would be enemies of the Murong family.

While the Murong Trading Company suffered heavy losses, its rivals also took nothing. Murong Fu would rather leave the shop empty than sell it at a low price. If anyone dared to seize it, he would beat them half to death and hand them over to the authorities for legal action. Otherwise, the case would be brought to the court. The Murong family's influence in the court was largely diminished, but not completely destroyed. Furthermore, such illegal activities would ultimately be handled by decent people, and Gusu Academy would help them gain a good reputation and make them a disgrace.

Of course, if anyone broke the rules, Murong Fu would make sure they knew that the Jianghu was in chaos. It was easy enough to pay a Beggars' Sect disciple to intervene, not to mention the Murong family's second- and third-rate guards, which even a mere local tyrant couldn't afford. Having experienced the world, Murong Fu was no softie. He understood the importance of repaying kindness with kindness and justice with justice. If the Murong family suffered even a small loss, the perpetrator would pay a greater price, at least equal to it.

For a time, the entire Song Dynasty was ablaze with chaos. While the Murong family suffered heavy losses, those who had attacked them also suffered no benefits, and in some cases even suffered even greater losses, with some even losing everything. The Murong family's former partners also paid the price for their choices. Putting aside other issues, the mere fact of being publicly removed from the Murong family's partner list was enough to make them infamous, significantly reducing their status in the martial arts world and also depriving them of the Murong family's protection.

Murong Fu publicly eliminated them, and the direct result was that the enemies of these people could retaliate openly without attracting the attention of the Murong family. The reputation of Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south was very important in the martial arts world, especially the ring competition organized by Murong Fu, which spread his and Qiao Feng's names throughout the martial arts world. His every move attracted the attention of many people.

Some people in the martial arts world even tried to curry favor with Murong Fu by deliberately attacking those martial arts forces that had broken with the Murong family. When they found Gusu Academy with these battle records, they actually received some rewards. Suddenly, the whole martial arts world was in chaos.

Until Master Xuanbei personally visited Murong Fu at Chanhe Villa...